a day of happiness
by ncfan
Summary: Is this what it means? 'Founders.'


Chronologically, this takes place between _Cataclysm _and _The Secret of Life_.

I own nothing.

* * *

Mito had been surprised to get an invitation to Tokemi's wedding reception. She'd moved away from Uzushiogakure years ago, and they'd fallen out of contact. _Could I have really made that much of an impact on her? We only knew each other for about four years. I haven't seen her since we were children._

Ah, well. If Tokemi wants to invite her to her wedding reception, Mito supposes she'll simply question her as to the reason _why _when she sees her, rather than worry about the reason for the entire time she's traveling north and getting ready for the reception. Mito has long been a fan of the saying: All questions will be answered in their own time. She may as well live by that saying.

Weddings in Uzu no Kuni are private affairs; during the ceremonies themselves, only members of the bride and grooms' families, along with the officiating priests, are allowed to be present in the wedding chamber. Mito herself has never attended a wedding. When she was born, in the Uzumaki clan there was only adults who were already grown and wed. The only children in the Uzumaki clan now are small children, far too young to marry.

Those guests who aren't relatives of the bride or groom wait in the reception hall to greet the newlyweds in their first time out in public. There are many guests for this wedding (the man Tokemi's married belongs to a prominent family, evidently) and Mito sits alone at a table near the middle of the room, surrounded by people who are strangers to her, and whom do not try to speak to the red-haired Uzumaki from the capital. That's how it's been all day; she'd arrived too late to see Tokemi before she went into the chamber to undergo the necessary rituals and purification rites. The only time anyone spoke to her was when an elderly manservant directed her towards the reception hall to wait.

It's a strikingly isolatedfeeling. Mito feels as though the world has shrunk and she's the only one in it, or as though she has some sort of illness and it's taboo even to speak to her. She feels anything but comfortable dealing with it, so she turns her attention to other, less weighty matters.

No one wears jewelry; at a wedding in Uzu no Kuni, only the bride and groom are permitted to wear jewelry of any sort. The only concession is made to women who wish to put their hair up, and even then they must wear pins of base metal or wood, and nothing too salient. For herself, Mito feels a bit naked. She's used to wearing jewelry enough to give credit to her station, and to be honest, Mito likes wearing jewelry. She likes looking good. _Oh well. It's only for one day. I'll survive, and I don't need to be moping about it._

Another taboo is the wearing of white by anyone by the bride and groom. Given that the colors of the Uzumaki clan are white and gold and Mito normally wears her clan colors, this is also something that puts a dent in Mito's normal fashion choices. However, going in yellow silk isn't quite as much as a sacrifice; she likes injecting a little color in her wardrobe from time to time.

Mito sips her wine pensively and waits for Tokemi and her new husband to enter through the door as man and wife. That sense of isolation is creeping over her again…

"Mito?"

Mito looks up suddenly, startled to hear a familiar voice. Chitose smiles at her and vacates her table to go sit with her. "I haven't seen you in years! How are you? Are you still training for politics or whatever it was you were planning to go into?"

To her question, Mito gives no reply. She finds that her usually ready, eloquent tongue has become quite tied indeed.

As with Tokemi, Mito hasn't seen Chitose in years. Upon becoming a full kunoichi, Chitose left Uzushio to live out her life elsewhere. The last time Mito saw Chitose, she was a tall girl in her late teens developing strong, wiry muscles, with a bright smile and sparkling eyes. Now?

Chitose's smile is still bright, and her eyes still sparkling. Otherwise, had it not been for her voice Mito is not sure she would have recognized her old friend. Chitose's formerly fair skin is tanned dark golden, the tan itself rather uneven in places; her brown hair is almost blonde. But those aren't the changes that gives Mito such pause. If they were, she suspects that she wouldn't be speechless, and instead would be scolding Chitose for not taking better care of her skin and hair.

There is a scar on her cheek, cleanly vertical and straight. It doesn't look fresh; it's a thin line rather than a ridge, and wouldn't be immediately visible from a distance or if Chitose wore some makeup. And there are thin lines around her mouth and eyes, that wriggle and squirm when she talks.

Where did those come from? When did she get them? Wrinkles are supposed to be the province of the elderly, and Chitose isn't old. _Isn't she? _Trapped in that moment, Mito compares Chitose's appearance to her own looks. She herself hasn't aged at all in the past five years, looks exactly the same now as she did then. Pale, smooth face, no lines. People look at her and call her ageless; some with awe, and others with mistrust.

Suddenly, the double doors swing open, and Tokemi, resplendent in full wedding regalia, walks in clutching the hand of her husband.

All the others clap, but Mito can not even do that. She can only gawk like a gauche girl, staring at Tokemi and seeing the same thing she saw on Chitose. Age piling on and on and on, without mercy, with the speed of a hurricane at full tilt. So much more quickly than the way age tacks itself onto Mito.

Is this what it means to be of the blood, a full-blooded Uzumaki? To walk in eternity, while the others fade like mayflies? Is this blessing or curse?

Struck suddenly by the weight of it, Mito can not say.

* * *

Yes, yes, _Doctor Who _reference. Truth be told, I've never actually seen the one it comes from, but I understand the context behind it and it strikes me as possibly the single-most powerful line in the entire show, and it seemed apt here.


End file.
